tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71068076901483783412018-03-19T15:05:50.488-04:00Stephanie Ruble: kidlit author/illustratorsrublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.comBlogger455125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-40966420453177689292017-08-23T14:38:00.000-04:002017-08-23T14:42:07.019-04:00octopus mail for illustration fridayEven sea creatures wait for the mail to arrive! The prompt for <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"> <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> this week</span></span> is: mail. And the <a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> color for tomorrow is Buttercup (which incidentally is also the name of the yellow fish in this picture):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GSBkkGQZj7A/WZ3LMl2TQjI/AAAAAAAAEdk/L-Wr6qXJx58JTb0ySuOWysDGtUGU88jZQCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_octomal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GSBkkGQZj7A/WZ3LMl2TQjI/AAAAAAAAEdk/L-Wr6qXJx58JTb0ySuOWysDGtUGU88jZQCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_octomal.jpg" /></a></div><br />Hope you get something fun in the mail this week!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-24597367245615549842017-08-11T00:29:00.002-04:002017-08-23T14:44:18.468-04:00cows celebrate world lion day, international cat day, and a beehive hairdo for illustration fridayIt's another art filled week around here, and also a holiday week. What holidays you ask? Today is World Lion Day! The cows are celebrating (or at least one of them is). Did you celebrate or practice your ROAR?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R8tQ9ZQ7gIY/WY0r0QalKEI/AAAAAAAAESQ/9c7k0a3JbR4HmqNJvu_S7xImpYCJyYBtwCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_cwlin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="310" data-original-width="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R8tQ9ZQ7gIY/WY0r0QalKEI/AAAAAAAAESQ/9c7k0a3JbR4HmqNJvu_S7xImpYCJyYBtwCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_cwlin.jpg" /></a></div><br />Yesterday was Book Lovers Day, and the prompt for <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"> <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> this week was hair, so I combined the two to create a girl and her teddy bear, both with beehive hairdos that are actually beehives! Added a few bees and bears too:</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zvOTeKN19G4/WY0zM8FXzNI/AAAAAAAAESw/2IkIW9SEFmUlSFAmG3y8U7-XnlWW7_0xQCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_bhvsbrs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zvOTeKN19G4/WY0zM8FXzNI/AAAAAAAAESw/2IkIW9SEFmUlSFAmG3y8U7-XnlWW7_0xQCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_bhvsbrs.jpg" /></a></div><br />International Cat Day was celebrated on Monday this week. We don't have cats to help us celebrate, so I drew some kitties. (If you have cats, please give them a scratch behind the ears for me!) <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V8YDY0pZlDQ/WY0sjebBV1I/AAAAAAAAESY/VZBjbwUDtEQkd0pl_Q1vsKDFhROcHHLcACLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_intlctdy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="309" data-original-width="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V8YDY0pZlDQ/WY0sjebBV1I/AAAAAAAAESY/VZBjbwUDtEQkd0pl_Q1vsKDFhROcHHLcACLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_intlctdy.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">Today's holiday is Play In The Sand Day and the color for </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> is </span></span><br />Vert Réséda, a very bright sea green. (Hard to recreate that color in watercolor, but I think I got close.) <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y3d-6FcvM5M/WY326rc5bqI/AAAAAAAAETA/Yx9DDCmreuo9UqrMrbjVNa9UZl1z7yWGgCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_bchcke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-y3d-6FcvM5M/WY326rc5bqI/AAAAAAAAETA/Yx9DDCmreuo9UqrMrbjVNa9UZl1z7yWGgCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_bchcke.jpg" /></a></div><br />This little girl's sandcastle looks a little bit like a cake. Maybe she'll grow up to be a baker or cake decorator, or maybe it's her birthday, or possibly she just wants a piece of cake. <br /><br />And last but not least, the new prompt for <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"> <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> was just announced, and it's PIZZA! It's not officially a holiday this week, but any day with pizza is a holiday ;) So here is a chicken celebrating with pizza!</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5BHXxN4WjqY/WY33dAt9KXI/AAAAAAAAETI/INAr9ORV8g4QWeJPpsMnWT8ZyEtYgqTyQCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_pzzackn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5BHXxN4WjqY/WY33dAt9KXI/AAAAAAAAETI/INAr9ORV8g4QWeJPpsMnWT8ZyEtYgqTyQCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_pzzackn.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">Happy weekend! Hope you all have a art filled holiday full of celebrations, whether they are official holidays or not (have some pizza and celebrate).</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-52286198537427846232017-07-28T00:26:00.000-04:002017-07-28T09:39:04.713-04:00two feathered sailors, a plaid dinosaur, and a cow with a moostacheI'm experimenting with a new style* for my portfolio this week. It's based on the painting process of three of <a href="https://sruble.blogspot.com/2017/07/making-art-for-fun-is-important-plus.html" target="_blank">the art for fun images I blogged about last week</a> (umbrella boat, cats, and sheep and giraffe). Even though they're all very different, I used some of the same processes to make the picture (amazing how art can be so similar and yet turn out so different). Still working on how I want the new style to look, but I like the pieces this week better than the ones last week. Here's the progression of paintings:<br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">First, are</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"> two feathery sailors for t</span></span>he <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> prompt (sailor):</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1cvt_NuDijE/WXq62jvi3aI/AAAAAAAAERM/jt5UBNepC7AuvUF79iKqk6DIkbVC5jCqACLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_sgllplcnsalrs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1cvt_NuDijE/WXq62jvi3aI/AAAAAAAAERM/jt5UBNepC7AuvUF79iKqk6DIkbVC5jCqACLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_sgllplcnsalrs.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">Next is a plaid dinosaur, or a Plaid-o-saurus Rex, just for fun:</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yOGnsUxxzyY/WXq7FZO-LFI/AAAAAAAAERQ/J7uCxFuiCYYpYr_uvDvmu9r4WWdN5skMwCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_pldasrsrx.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="246" data-original-width="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yOGnsUxxzyY/WXq7FZO-LFI/AAAAAAAAERQ/J7uCxFuiCYYpYr_uvDvmu9r4WWdN5skMwCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_pldasrsrx.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">Finally, I painted a cow with a moo-stache for </span></span><a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> (the color this week is Portland Orange):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2CljYyr8jvw/WXq7y9DZ_1I/AAAAAAAAERY/uXBCDV2w0_sx8R1ka7lYhgS2cI6CDNz_gCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_mstche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="301" data-original-width="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2CljYyr8jvw/WXq7y9DZ_1I/AAAAAAAAERY/uXBCDV2w0_sx8R1ka7lYhgS2cI6CDNz_gCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_mstche.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">So far I'm liking the new style, even if it's not completely there yet. I think it's getting close though (or at least I hope so)!</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">What are you working on this week? Have you ever changed your art style? How did it go?</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">*This is not the first time I've changed my art style. It's never easy, but hopefully in the end it will be worth it! It's always been worth it in the past for me. Fingers crossed it will be this time too!</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-39158256680469127562017-07-21T00:09:00.000-04:002017-07-22T00:26:49.169-04:00importance of making art for fun, plus illustration friday and color collective<a href="http://sruble.com/art.html" target="_blank">I just added an art for fun section to my website.&nbsp;</a><br /><br /><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">Q: What is art for fun?</span></span></i></b><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">A: Art that's just for fun might be in a different style, use a different medium, or it could even be a doodle! Art for fun is just for you. It's not part of a project or for your portfolio (though it could be in the future.</span></span> </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><b><i>Q: Why is it important to take time away from other projects to make art that's just for fun?</i></b></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">A: It can be hard to keep your creativity if you're schedule is full, or if you feel obligated to create only a certain type of art for a project, or your portfolio. Art for fun doesn't have an agenda, so there's no pressure. You can create what you want. It can help you stay creative (and avoid burnout) and the things you learn could help you make art for books or other projects. You never know what's going to happen when you make art without a plan*.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">* Not having a plan and doing it for fun doesn't mean you can't be inspired by an illustration prompt, or try new materials to change up your style. (If you've visited my blog before, you might have noticed that I do a lot of art for illustration prompts. This is why.) What it means is that nobody is expecting you to make the art. You can experiment! You can make mistakes!**</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">** Mistakes are part of the creative process, but sometimes it seems like we don't have room to make mistakes. You don't have to turn in art for fun, or show it to anyone, unless you want to. I don't show all the art for fun on my site, but it's fun to be able to show a few of the pieces I like.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">Q: Do you have any examples of art for fun?</span></span></i></b><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">A: Yes! Here four pieces of art for fun I made this week (notice how different each of these pieces are). Two of them are for illustration prompts. If I were making these for my portfolio, I wouldn't feel like I could experiment with style and medium as much as I did with these:</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">1. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">The prompt for <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> this week is: ice cream. I enjoyed creating <a href="https://sruble.blogspot.com/2017/06/dinosaurs-rollerskating-for.html" target="_blank">my roller skating dinosaurs</a>, so I decided to paint a dinosaur eating ice cream and experiment with acrylic paint and texture:</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XtEwQAY4OFc/WXF6cIZf7RI/AAAAAAAAEP4/NZWTwjyFvkwtjoJ03oD3ETUoMGt_OtbPgCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_dnoiccrm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="248" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XtEwQAY4OFc/WXF6cIZf7RI/AAAAAAAAEP4/NZWTwjyFvkwtjoJ03oD3ETUoMGt_OtbPgCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_dnoiccrm.jpg" /></a></div><br />2. The color for <a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> this week was a blue color - Pantone 292 C, to be exact, which is harder to create in traditional mediums when you can't "pick" the color like you can digitally. I experimented with watercolor, watercolor crayons, and sponge painting to come up with an umbrella boat with a bear and two birds, and lots of blue:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1YgJFeNhenE/WXF7a24gSTI/AAAAAAAAEP8/WUxLYjYiigw3WJ4dEyLYJcF666iBtzUogCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_umbrllabot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="251" data-original-width="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1YgJFeNhenE/WXF7a24gSTI/AAAAAAAAEP8/WUxLYjYiigw3WJ4dEyLYJcF666iBtzUogCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_umbrllabot.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">3. This image is a character study of 3 Cats meowing, but mostly it's another experiment in sponge painting (I love sponge painting, but I can't control it, which is part of the fun and also part of the frustration):</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t-Lmli3DTs0/WXF8OiNO6lI/AAAAAAAAEQE/i_8zjOJjPd0zJa8E3P9qSyKzDs7MIjauwCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_3cts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="262" data-original-width="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t-Lmli3DTs0/WXF8OiNO6lI/AAAAAAAAEQE/i_8zjOJjPd0zJa8E3P9qSyKzDs7MIjauwCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_3cts.jpg" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">4. Last but not least, I experimented with not using black line for my giraffe and sheep (with a little sponge painting in the background):</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AckGc1jK0Uk/WXF8hq0UK7I/AAAAAAAAEQI/bd4rgxz8AL0uLRdjSyjuEWInXX0u0nZewCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_grffeshp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="249" data-original-width="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-AckGc1jK0Uk/WXF8hq0UK7I/AAAAAAAAEQI/bd4rgxz8AL0uLRdjSyjuEWInXX0u0nZewCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_grffeshp.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">These are all very different, and I learned things from each one that will help me make art in the future, even if it's digital art. If I were only making art for a book or my portfolio, none of these images would exist. If I weren't making art for fun, I wouldn't grow as an artist, and eventually, that would catch up with me.</span></span><br /><br /><b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">Q: What does your regular art look like?</span></span></i></b><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">A:</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"> If you're not familiar with my art, you might not realize how different this art is from what's in my portfolio. Here are my two latest pieces for comparison, one color, one black line:</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">I. Roberta and Bailey (the robot) at the Beach: </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>[Note - even this is different than the art for the book I illustrated (<a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781423175919" target="_blank">EWE AND AYE</a>) - it's important to keep growing as an artist, IMO.]</i></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qmNu7nqxb0o/WXH1sS3XV6I/AAAAAAAAEQk/XSphsKPQzZ405cjOarLldI7z1rRbZj41QCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_RRbch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="267" data-original-width="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qmNu7nqxb0o/WXH1sS3XV6I/AAAAAAAAEQk/XSphsKPQzZ405cjOarLldI7z1rRbZj41QCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_RRbch.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">II. Crabby Stories - Teller of Tall Tales:</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bK6uPzFmOPg/WXH164H4tXI/AAAAAAAAEQo/GNBiNbWvKLIH8s-n7fA-I0LXwiS82StkACLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_mmadcrbbestries1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="319" data-original-width="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bK6uPzFmOPg/WXH164H4tXI/AAAAAAAAEQo/GNBiNbWvKLIH8s-n7fA-I0LXwiS82StkACLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_mmadcrbbestries1.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">Do you make art for fun?&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;">Or if you're a writer, do you write stories just for yourself? (Writing for fun can have similar benefits to making art for fun.)</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><a href="http://sruble.com/art.html" target="_blank">If you want to see more of art for fun, check out the new section on my website.</a></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><b>If you're interested in becoming a picture book illustrator and/or writer,</b> here are some of my past posts that might help:</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-path-illustrators-take-to-get-their.html" target="_blank">The Path Illustrators Take To Get Their Work Noticed And Advance Their Careers</a> </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2014/12/five-things-for-illustrators-aka-five.html" target="_blank">Five Tips For Illustrators&nbsp;&nbsp; </a></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2015/12/3-ways-to-make-picture-book-dummy.html" target="_blank">Three Ways To Make A Picture Book Dummy&nbsp; </a><br /><br /><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2015/01/ten-tips-for-choosing-what-to-draw-for.html" target="_blank">Ten Tips For Choosing What To Draw For Your Portfolio, And Ten Ways To Find Inspiration</a><br /><br /><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2014/05/how-to-write-picture-book-in-twelve.html" target="_blank">How To Write A Picture Book In Twelve Easy Steps&nbsp;&nbsp;</a><br /><br /><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2017/01/if-you-just-want-to-illustrate-and-not.html" target="_blank">If You Just Want To Illustrate And Not Write&nbsp;&nbsp; </a></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-89557804702455814742017-06-16T00:29:00.001-04:002017-06-16T00:29:37.884-04:00dinosaurs rollerskating for illustration friday and colour collectiveThe prompt for <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> this week is skate, and the color for <a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> this week was Ceylon Yellow. So of course I thought of a dinosaur rollerskating! Ended up doing two paintings (so far) and they are both still wet, which means I can't scan* them. Luckily, I can photograph them! Am experimenting with mixed media paintings, these are the first two.<br /><br />In the first painting, a dinosaur taking a relaxing skate through town (well relaxing for the dinosaur, not so much for the people):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4qs8qXRlx1g/WUNdOpLBV0I/AAAAAAAAEDc/zod7AQXyEjoaY9IKkvUzqy00LeqDvHo5ACLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_dnoskt1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="291" data-original-width="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4qs8qXRlx1g/WUNdOpLBV0I/AAAAAAAAEDc/zod7AQXyEjoaY9IKkvUzqy00LeqDvHo5ACLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_dnoskt1.jpg" /></a></div><br />In the second painting, the dinosaur is skating out in the country. A child waves from the car going by (the parent driving is not as happy about the dinosaur as the child):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vYKIvjmNrek/WUNdpqzAL8I/AAAAAAAAEDg/xuqpoXWGdgUynKOikscS8hiNL4Nu83CiwCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_dnoskt2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="297" data-original-width="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vYKIvjmNrek/WUNdpqzAL8I/AAAAAAAAEDg/xuqpoXWGdgUynKOikscS8hiNL4Nu83CiwCLcBGAs/s1600/sruble_dnoskt2.jpg" /></a></div><br />Thinking about doing a third image, where the dinosaur is skating much faster, maybe even racing someone or something. Or a dino who is not quite as steady on skates. Or maybe just a giant dino foot with skate picture. Hmm. Need to start sketching!<br /><br />p.s. As you can see by the differences in the two pictures, I'm still developing the dino character.<br /><br />*p.p.s. If I have time tomorrow, I will scan these pictures so they look better.&nbsp; <div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-23591585815309347222017-05-19T14:08:00.000-04:002017-05-19T14:11:43.305-04:00cows and chickens preparing for the farm gamesThe color for <a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> this week was Baker-Miller Pink (the color of the cow noses below). I wasn't sure what to draw, but then remembered a sketch I did a long time ago of a chicken running over the top of a line of cows. It was for a title page of a picture book that sadly never got published, but I've always liked that sketch.<br /><br />I added a second line of cows, a bunch of baby chickens, had fun with the colors, and came up with this:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2MWBcl6Jpb0/WR8vZHl21PI/AAAAAAAAD80/zzJvwdhD2bwMgCdL5KbD2H-VPyBSMaYaACLcB/s1600/sruble_driacws02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2MWBcl6Jpb0/WR8vZHl21PI/AAAAAAAAD80/zzJvwdhD2bwMgCdL5KbD2H-VPyBSMaYaACLcB/s1600/sruble_driacws02.jpg" /></a></div><br />Today, I found out that the prompt for <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> this week is team. I decided that the cows and chickens are teams getting ready for the upcoming Farm Games (which I imagine are like the Olympics for farm animals). Team Moo is preparing by eating a hearty meal. Team Cluck is preparing by running sprints (the baby chicks are still a little unclear about what that means). I decided that in order to concentrate, Team Moo and Team Cluck would have to have no distractions in their image, so away went the background and the image now looks like this:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mb6WeHY1Fr8/WR8wXG61YRI/AAAAAAAAD84/3NK1a0lMDaIVOLOKB1-uZVkuVT9dGDW_ACLcB/s1600/sruble_driacws01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mb6WeHY1Fr8/WR8wXG61YRI/AAAAAAAAD84/3NK1a0lMDaIVOLOKB1-uZVkuVT9dGDW_ACLcB/s1600/sruble_driacws01.jpg" /></a></div><br />It looks the same, and yet completely different! I like looking at art with different aspects added or subtracted to see what it looks like and how it changes the image as a whole. Speaking of completely different, here's a version without the black line:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dr1D7xuZ7e0/WR8ywkMzpUI/AAAAAAAAD9A/rDUm4VIPSEYuRTUZpP4ROtF1c8jcQhcDwCLcB/s1600/sruble_driacws03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dr1D7xuZ7e0/WR8ywkMzpUI/AAAAAAAAD9A/rDUm4VIPSEYuRTUZpP4ROtF1c8jcQhcDwCLcB/s1600/sruble_driacws03.jpg" /></a></div><br />Here's all three of them together, which makes a completely different look, with the white square in between the two multicolored squares (which makes it easier to see that the cow lines are not straight):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7DqR0l9lOM/WR8zqo0xIUI/AAAAAAAAD9E/tyS2nfEqZWAuqix1sBYwvwi2SccrkDvigCLcB/s1600/sruble_driacws04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y7DqR0l9lOM/WR8zqo0xIUI/AAAAAAAAD9E/tyS2nfEqZWAuqix1sBYwvwi2SccrkDvigCLcB/s1600/sruble_driacws04.jpg" /></a></div><br />Not sure which one I like best. As usual, I like them all for different reasons. If this were for a book project, the one that worked best with the characters and story would be the one to go with for printing (still not always easy to choose).<br /><br />Do you ever do multiple versions of images or written stories? If so, how do you decide which one you like best, or which one makes it to final art/text?<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-30559739560306904702017-04-28T15:10:00.000-04:002017-04-28T15:10:32.400-04:00kitty superhero hideout and a hopscotch superheroHappy National Superhero Day! To honor the holiday, here are my two latest superheroes:<br /><br />For for <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> this week (prompt = shoe) and for <a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> (color = lava red), here's the Kitty Superhero Hideout:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--WC_2MmSp9k/WQOSAURaA-I/AAAAAAAAC_I/uRFi9RSYUZcMqkvbaSsWFDEV2w3AG3oLgCLcB/s1600/sruble_kttysprhrohdot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--WC_2MmSp9k/WQOSAURaA-I/AAAAAAAAC_I/uRFi9RSYUZcMqkvbaSsWFDEV2w3AG3oLgCLcB/s1600/sruble_kttysprhrohdot.jpg" /></a></div><br />Not sure yet whether the Masked Mouse is a friend or foe. Here's a close up of three of the four kitty superheroes:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mpkz0CYjFFM/WQOSnYNvRqI/AAAAAAAAC_Q/qlrLJIdkDBgV7GlG5ivCGhMeEetsoNOUACLcB/s1600/sruble_kttysprhrohdot2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mpkz0CYjFFM/WQOSnYNvRqI/AAAAAAAAC_Q/qlrLJIdkDBgV7GlG5ivCGhMeEetsoNOUACLcB/s1600/sruble_kttysprhrohdot2.jpg" /></a></div><br />Last week, I drew the Hopscotch Superhero for Colour Collective (color = kingfisher):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mLxAUCjHMyQ/WQOTHkscCNI/AAAAAAAAC_Y/TQJhVCBRorwyqp8PgAVWhA_qt8jzB1JEQCLcB/s1600/sruble_hpsctchsprhro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mLxAUCjHMyQ/WQOTHkscCNI/AAAAAAAAC_Y/TQJhVCBRorwyqp8PgAVWhA_qt8jzB1JEQCLcB/s1600/sruble_hpsctchsprhro.jpg" /></a></div><br />Can't remember the last time I played hopscotch, how about you? Drawing this made me want to get out the chalk and go hop! <br /><br />Happy National Superhero Day!<br /><br />Don't forget to wear your cape.<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-87919490953953934522017-04-13T23:47:00.000-04:002017-04-13T23:47:48.355-04:00that's not a rabbit - when magic tricks go sidewaysThe word for <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> this week is illusion. Magicians are masters of illusion, but they have to start somewhere. This little girl needs a bit more practice pulling a rabbit out of her hat:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2qZ-21ehahw/WPBFc_EugVI/AAAAAAAAC9c/qzDqVfX6RZUlx_ZbTZt8AGFcMlXxTG82ACLcB/s1600/sruble_ntarbbt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2qZ-21ehahw/WPBFc_EugVI/AAAAAAAAC9c/qzDqVfX6RZUlx_ZbTZt8AGFcMlXxTG82ACLcB/s1600/sruble_ntarbbt.jpg" /></a></div><br />What's that bear doing in there? And why is the bear wearing bunny ears? Or is it really a rabbit in disguise? Illusions can be mysterious. <br /><br />p.s. This is also for <a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> tomorrow (the color is Jonquil Yellow).<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-76196646774072882402017-03-28T15:00:00.000-04:002017-03-28T15:01:55.740-04:00art fun with idioms, mimes, birds and cowsThis past week has been filled with art and idioms. <br /><br />To celebrate the first day of spring, I wondered what would happen if the early worm got the bird, and decided that would probably be big news:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qp4V2GYVvlM/WNqq4hvnToI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/fduI1__pJLYGjBJ6bbdE4MFUbQAH-v7jgCEw/s1600/sruble_nws.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qp4V2GYVvlM/WNqq4hvnToI/AAAAAAAAC8Y/fduI1__pJLYGjBJ6bbdE4MFUbQAH-v7jgCEw/s1600/sruble_nws.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />The season might be only a week old, but the idiom art keeps coming.<br /><br />For <a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> on Friday, the color was Blue Bell (like the flowers). That doesn't have anything to do with idioms, or mimes, but I decided to use both of those as inspiration for my image:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tWpBaTdJ6Ac/WNqr9aT5knI/AAAAAAAAC8c/SZDUtg6yOskO2IvOjsDCX7Cw21_Nz2VIgCLcB/s1600/sruble_rdbtwnmims.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tWpBaTdJ6Ac/WNqr9aT5knI/AAAAAAAAC8c/SZDUtg6yOskO2IvOjsDCX7Cw21_Nz2VIgCLcB/s1600/sruble_rdbtwnmims.jpg" /></a></div>Read Between The Mimes! (I had to do it. Once I thought of the idea, it cracked me up.)<br /><br />After the worm and the mimes, the word for <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> this week is umbrella (which makes sense, because it's spring and it keeps raining). I thought about drawing a rain filled umbrella scene, but then the idiom, "When it rains, it pours!" came into my head, which of course got changed into, "When it rains, cows soar!" And then I thought of Mary Poppins, and well, this happened:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h8o8EY7NpNY/WNqturF6qPI/AAAAAAAAC8k/lB3gA44outw2qy1hx0ASOVsrmRsnTk1bwCLcB/s1600/sruble_umbrllacws01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h8o8EY7NpNY/WNqturF6qPI/AAAAAAAAC8k/lB3gA44outw2qy1hx0ASOVsrmRsnTk1bwCLcB/s1600/sruble_umbrllacws01.jpg" /></a></div><br />It's a whole herd of the rare Mooey Poppins cows! (with apologies to Mary Poppins)<br /><br />This will also be my art for Colour Collective this week (the color is Burnt Sienna, which I used on half of the umbrellas - the color looks a lot more red in the Colour Collective swatch than it does when I get it out of a tube of paint - was a perfect color for the umbrellas though).<br /><br />Here's a close up of a few of the umbrella flying cows:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kfAEpIi_Kq4/WNquFcnk9TI/AAAAAAAAC8o/QEMVrlQ3Zpc7Q8yTimcEznnkx0E_zBz2wCLcB/s1600/sruble_umbrllacws02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kfAEpIi_Kq4/WNquFcnk9TI/AAAAAAAAC8o/QEMVrlQ3Zpc7Q8yTimcEznnkx0E_zBz2wCLcB/s1600/sruble_umbrllacws02.jpg" /></a></div><br />I've got a feeling it might be an idiom filled season. ;)<br /><br />There were a couple of non-idiom art pieces this week too. I did two quick sketches for "holidays." (Note: there are holidays that are just a little odd and nobody really knows why they are holidays, but they're usually fun to celebrate and draw pictures for, so yay? these two images are for those type of holidays).<br /><br />Holiday #1 National Poultry Day - a quick sketch of a character from a WIP:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5d_HR_o8F-s/WNqv_QukuWI/AAAAAAAAC80/P6Mv8mRaXH0qcE8s1UbbMs5nf_kaQZLCwCLcB/s1600/sruble_zpcknsktch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5d_HR_o8F-s/WNqv_QukuWI/AAAAAAAAC80/P6Mv8mRaXH0qcE8s1UbbMs5nf_kaQZLCwCLcB/s1600/sruble_zpcknsktch.jpg" /></a></div><br />Still working on her look. Will not be using these markers for the final art (I always forget I don't like these evil markers* until after I've used them - won't happen again ... until the next time I forget)!<br /><br />Holiday #2 National Puppy Day - another quick sketch (but this time not with the evil markers*)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1OQUVfRdqHY/WNqx0fs_ONI/AAAAAAAAC88/QkGQiABHqO8IG96uFMlD0v1Z7t5X2IfIQCLcB/s1600/sruble_grlppyrd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1OQUVfRdqHY/WNqx0fs_ONI/AAAAAAAAC88/QkGQiABHqO8IG96uFMlD0v1Z7t5X2IfIQCLcB/s1600/sruble_grlppyrd.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Happy Spring Everyone! <br /><br />What's your favorite idiom?<br /><br />* the markers aren't really evil - I just keep forgetting they don't work like paint, even though they have a brush tip - or maybe I just keep hoping that the markers will magically work like paint if I let them sit for a while - I am optimistic (though not about the markers) <div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-65995471431295262942017-03-17T16:09:00.000-04:002017-03-17T16:21:20.127-04:00rain during a blizzard and art challengesThis has been an art filled week! <br /><br />We had a blizzard on Tuesday. You may have seen something about it on the news, or wondered why everyone was talking about Stella (that's what they named the blizzard). We got hit by the blizzard, and then it shifted and we got rain, and then snow, and then rain and snow together, and then snow again. Yay! (Ugh!)<br /><br />So I made some art:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5GGdUUN1DVY/WMw8j5t50oI/AAAAAAAAC7M/zO-HiExrcmYkYgBEpODHxTTjpPsVMg_5QCLcB/s1600/sruble_snwrn_C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5GGdUUN1DVY/WMw8j5t50oI/AAAAAAAAC7M/zO-HiExrcmYkYgBEpODHxTTjpPsVMg_5QCLcB/s1600/sruble_snwrn_C.jpg" /></a></div><br />I even made an avatar out of the image (because it's a bit of a self portrait and shows how I feel about snow, and rain-snow). Check it out on the sidebar.<br /><br />After the blizzard, it was National Panda Day on Thursday. (Yay pandas!) So of course I had to make some art for that too. (BTW, did you know pandas are hard to draw? They are!) When I was done with the line drawing, I realized some grasses would make a great background. As a bonus, it could be my <a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> image (the color is clover green this week):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0_RKrvpOsS4/WMw9zjpQ8FI/AAAAAAAAC7U/o1MuxPJPXdIKZLkC5b00i834_W6uIkj1wCLcB/s1600/sruble_pndabby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0_RKrvpOsS4/WMw9zjpQ8FI/AAAAAAAAC7U/o1MuxPJPXdIKZLkC5b00i834_W6uIkj1wCLcB/s1600/sruble_pndabby.jpg" /></a></div><br />I had so much fun making the green grasses with my brush markers that decided to make more art with them. It did not turn out well (there's a reason I don't use those markers very often). There was a lot of clover green though, so I scanned it to use as a second Colour Collective image. After scanning, it looked even worse, so I painted over it in Photoshop. It looks much better now:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PCC1EyMk7eI/WMw_UFiIphI/AAAAAAAAC7g/-7eDleB9VM0eVqwqPgx_GgWItO1FscD8QCLcB/s1600/sruble_snwblltre.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PCC1EyMk7eI/WMw_UFiIphI/AAAAAAAAC7g/-7eDleB9VM0eVqwqPgx_GgWItO1FscD8QCLcB/s1600/sruble_snwblltre.jpg" /></a></div><br />Today I looked on the&nbsp; <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> site and saw that the prompt this week is snail. And then this happened (and luckily it has clover green in it, so it can be a third image Colour Collective image):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ay65qrc3yLo/WMxASh6jDGI/AAAAAAAAC7o/ZKxpigviKCQ4VpADFiwFZTpKqP-RJQUzQCLcB/s1600/sruble_snlktty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ay65qrc3yLo/WMxASh6jDGI/AAAAAAAAC7o/ZKxpigviKCQ4VpADFiwFZTpKqP-RJQUzQCLcB/s1600/sruble_snlktty.jpg" /></a></div><br />That's the end of my art filled week. It started off with winter and ended up with spring ;).<br /><br /><span data-offset-key="1co4b-0-0"><span data-text="true">Wishing you all a creative art filled weekend (whatever kind of art you want to make or enjoy, whether it's visual, written story, music or something else)!</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-50872629884479368122017-03-14T15:51:00.002-04:002017-03-14T15:54:38.910-04:00a pie loving bear coloring page for pi dayHappy <a href="http://www.piday.org/" target="_blank">Pi Day</a>! (a.k.a. Pie Day) <a href="http://sruble.com/ColoringFun.html" target="_blank">Here's a pie eating bear coloring page</a> to celebrate (+ 5 more new coloring pages too, including - a cat and mouse, a lost sock train, pigs on a combine, kids playing in the sun, and smart alligators):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gRJD5IQj5SU/WMhJhvju9NI/AAAAAAAAC5o/WqknwvT4jEIHpEArW8ED4BEaSOtuqWZ_QCLcB/s1600/sruble_brbbbrrypi_clrpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gRJD5IQj5SU/WMhJhvju9NI/AAAAAAAAC5o/WqknwvT4jEIHpEArW8ED4BEaSOtuqWZ_QCLcB/s1600/sruble_brbbbrrypi_clrpg.jpg" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://sruble.com/ColoringFun.html" target="_blank">Ready to color? Click here!</a> <div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-79212920678148246582017-03-10T13:36:00.000-05:002017-03-10T13:39:54.912-05:00punk rock toddlers and a tiny mermaid waving helloThe <a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> color for this week is: Amaranth. I played around with a few ideas and ended up drawing a trio of toddlers rocking out. Unfortunately, one of them was a complete drawing failure and got inked out. I had just enough room on the paper I was using to create a new character to round out the trio.<br /><br />Since everyone posts their images for Colour Collective at the same time on Friday afternoons (19:30 GMT), that gave me time to check out the <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> prompt for this week. Luckily, the prompt ties in with the image I created for Colour Collective. The Illustration Friday prompt is: punk.<br /><br />My little rockin' toddlers love punk music! A coincidence? Probably, but still true. Here they are with their newest member (the one in the middle) and their new song:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EsIL2xukfyQ/WMLv5GD6z1I/AAAAAAAAC4o/atLkEkIFhmUCqloWpVFOGMs_5vj6mnZaQCLcB/s1600/sruble_3muscans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EsIL2xukfyQ/WMLv5GD6z1I/AAAAAAAAC4o/atLkEkIFhmUCqloWpVFOGMs_5vj6mnZaQCLcB/s1600/sruble_3muscans.jpg" /></a></div><br />The toddler on the left is my new avatar. She is not impressed with the singing talent of their newest punk rocker.<br /><br />In other news, apparently it's winter again. If you'd rather think about warm tropical weather, or just need a friendly bit of happy today, this tiny mermaid is waving hello to you:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7CjeISfaNlA/WMLwnpbU3dI/AAAAAAAAC4w/yt1Pi976Usgi9MMoKovHWeGxCmhud0E1gCLcB/s1600/sruble_tnymrmaid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7CjeISfaNlA/WMLwnpbU3dI/AAAAAAAAC4w/yt1Pi976Usgi9MMoKovHWeGxCmhud0E1gCLcB/s1600/sruble_tnymrmaid.jpg" /></a></div><br />I like the tiny mermaid, but my favorite character is actually the octopus with an attitude:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gqOBOE41qwg/WMLyyBM6nII/AAAAAAAAC48/S6t4uMih7x4qBOy9qi6_-ZTRNVC0uex9ACLcB/s1600/sruble_tnymrmaid_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gqOBOE41qwg/WMLyyBM6nII/AAAAAAAAC48/S6t4uMih7x4qBOy9qi6_-ZTRNVC0uex9ACLcB/s1600/sruble_tnymrmaid_crop.jpg" /></a></div><br />Also, in case you didn't notice, there's a shark hiding in the picture too. <br /><br />Whether you're rocking out, dreaming of warm weather, making art, or plotting your next book while shoveling snow, I hope you have an awesome weekend! (Even if you're not doing any of those things, I hope you have an awesome weekend doing whatever it is that you're doing!)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-45121807538593195012017-03-04T13:49:00.000-05:002017-03-04T13:49:30.161-05:00scoop for an underwater reporter, a leaping sheep, and a snowmanThe <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> prompt this week is: scoop. My first thought when I saw the topic yesterday was a reporter getting a news scoop. And then I wondered what it would look like if that reporter were a shark. A real live shark in the ocean, trying to interview an elusive subject. (Creativity is strange sometimes, or maybe it's just my creativity that's strange.)<br /><br />Here's the underwater news report, and the moment that my shark reporter gets the scoop:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4ud9YWzbT-E/WLsI4mujWuI/AAAAAAAAC14/di5_uiX_52c7I4_7W4hLpyvOIdmBQzqKgCLcB/s1600/sruble_extrascp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4ud9YWzbT-E/WLsI4mujWuI/AAAAAAAAC14/di5_uiX_52c7I4_7W4hLpyvOIdmBQzqKgCLcB/s1600/sruble_extrascp.jpg" /></a></div><br />After drawing this, I realized that scoop could also refer to a scoop of ice cream. So of course I wondered if the octopus would hide as a cherry on the top of an ice cream sundae to avoid the shark reporter. Might have to draw that later! Until then, here's a close up of the Ocean News, in case you want to know the scoop!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5YLpdWDyWd8/WLsLUWT0DuI/AAAAAAAAC2M/egMk3seAdssdsvauqT1i7nJyuZeOXHaQACLcB/s1600/sruble_extrascp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5YLpdWDyWd8/WLsLUWT0DuI/AAAAAAAAC2M/egMk3seAdssdsvauqT1i7nJyuZeOXHaQACLcB/s1600/sruble_extrascp2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />When I went to post this today, I realized I hadn't posted my leaping sheep pictures from last month. The first one below was for Valentine's Day, the second one was for my first <a href="https://twitter.com/Clr_Collective" target="_blank">Colour Collective</a> image (the color that week was Opal Grey). It's basically the same image, but with a few differences that make a big difference in the final look:<br /><br />Sheep In Love:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OtcRDS-RWdk/WLsKUl57r2I/AAAAAAAAC2A/yhfWr0NxBbg8zVQMUN6uXcybJTZUn5FPwCLcB/s1600/sruble_vlntneshp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-OtcRDS-RWdk/WLsKUl57r2I/AAAAAAAAC2A/yhfWr0NxBbg8zVQMUN6uXcybJTZUn5FPwCLcB/s1600/sruble_vlntneshp.jpg" /></a></div><br />Leaping Sheep:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-knkcXjBEBOA/WLsKdOpVCCI/AAAAAAAAC2E/wBaodZ3Zs04XU3uYCDX7HrqCyiQk1-AmQCLcB/s1600/sruble_clrcllctveshp02.17.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-knkcXjBEBOA/WLsKdOpVCCI/AAAAAAAAC2E/wBaodZ3Zs04XU3uYCDX7HrqCyiQk1-AmQCLcB/s1600/sruble_clrcllctveshp02.17.17.jpg" /></a></div><br />Can't decide which one I like better. They're both fun for different reasons. Which one do you like better?<br /><br />Finally, here's a snowman to brighten your day. I drew it for my aunt Thelma, who loved snowmen, but was not fond of winter:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-StlgEV53ApI/WLsL1JZt8AI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/-Ip0deiVkK4ib92yWB2zpNzEVRFEsuHywCLcB/s1600/sruble_Thlmasnwmn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-StlgEV53ApI/WLsL1JZt8AI/AAAAAAAAC2Q/-Ip0deiVkK4ib92yWB2zpNzEVRFEsuHywCLcB/s1600/sruble_Thlmasnwmn.jpg" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-56324137324395320222017-02-12T17:29:00.001-05:002017-02-12T18:01:06.026-05:00sketch book look + tea for IFThought I'd share some images from my sketchbook (I always love seeing what's in other artist's sketchbooks). Here are a few from today, including my drawing for the <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> prompt this week, which is tea, and a few character sketches (all cell phone pics):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jFW6H9BJXgA/WKDg6Id4p9I/AAAAAAAAC00/nqr9-rR3RBYYO1cNUWrs85dCS6kw7N0fgCLcB/s1600/sruble_sktchs02.12.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jFW6H9BJXgA/WKDg6Id4p9I/AAAAAAAAC00/nqr9-rR3RBYYO1cNUWrs85dCS6kw7N0fgCLcB/s1600/sruble_sktchs02.12.17.jpg" /></a></div><br />Here's a close up of the tea party (with fancy hats):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nu2O82js0RY/WKDhDl8jgKI/AAAAAAAAC04/w5JX1LizwTEF_Gcn1PsRCZtW_BFMnJQQQCLcB/s1600/sruble_grl_dg_tea02.12.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Nu2O82js0RY/WKDhDl8jgKI/AAAAAAAAC04/w5JX1LizwTEF_Gcn1PsRCZtW_BFMnJQQQCLcB/s1600/sruble_grl_dg_tea02.12.17.jpg" /></a></div><br />And here's a bonus sketch (thinking of spring while it snows outside):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2d36m5UwVjs/WKDo0WlV_eI/AAAAAAAAC1M/qFiLe38QDJMM2pBLcIYSipq1LuOI-76EwCLcB/s1600/sruble_sprngsktch02.12.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2d36m5UwVjs/WKDo0WlV_eI/AAAAAAAAC1M/qFiLe38QDJMM2pBLcIYSipq1LuOI-76EwCLcB/s320/sruble_sprngsktch02.12.17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />What's on your drawing board today?<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-22018972279609959532017-01-04T13:13:00.000-05:002017-08-15T14:41:22.429-04:00if you just want to illustrate and not write<style><!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style><b>Happy New Year! </b>Do you have any goals or resolutions for the year?<br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I don’t usually make resolutions, and I tend to make goals throughout the year, not just at the beginning. One of the goals I have for this year (which I’ve actually been working on since November) is to focus on illustration and to replace all the work in my current portfolio with new art (even if I really like the old art). Here's a new piece I made in December because another one of my goals is to start making more black and white art:</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wY0BSkNsnyc/WG0432Jir4I/AAAAAAAAC0E/wv_s60Y8qjwOAb8t2QSYYn6Qi_xuHyyGgCLcB/s1600/sruble_wtrbrdes.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wY0BSkNsnyc/WG0432Jir4I/AAAAAAAAC0E/wv_s60Y8qjwOAb8t2QSYYn6Qi_xuHyyGgCLcB/s1600/sruble_wtrbrdes.jpg" /></a> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">(FYI: If you're looking for coloring pages for your kids (or you), this image, plus robots, a mermaid, and more are available to download for free here - <a href="http://sruble.com/ColoringFun.html">http://sruble.com/ColoringFun.html</a>)&nbsp;</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Like many illustrators, I also write. But sometimes I wish I could just make art! Then again, stories sometimes start because of making art! So, focusing on the art will help me create stories too. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>What if you don’t want to write stories, but only want to illustrate? </b></div><div class="MsoNormal">I wrote a post about the path illustrators take to get published (note: it’s not the same as it is for authors). If you aren’t familiar with that path, check out my post on the path illustrators take to get their work noticed and advance their careers - <a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-path-illustrators-take-to-get-their.html">http://sruble.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-path-illustrators-take-to-get-their.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">If you just want to draw for a living, the reality of children's books (at least trade book publishing) is that there's usually not a lot of money in it. Also, it takes a while to get your foot in the door, sometimes many, many years. That said, there are illustration opportunities out there.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>First, you will need a portfolio. If you have one, great! Keep reading. If you don’t have a portfolio, or need to update your portfolio, you might find it helpful to read the post I wrote on what to draw for your portfolio - <a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2015/01/ten-tips-for-choosing-what-to-draw-for.html">http://sruble.blogspot.com/2015/01/ten-tips-for-choosing-what-to-draw-for.html</a> Once you’re all ready with your portfolio ...<br /><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Opportunities to illustrate for children:</b></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>(Note – This is a post for illustrators, but a lot of it applies to writers too. For all these categories, make sure you have a contract. Make sure you understand and are comfortable with the terms of the contract. Have a lawyer, or your agent, look over the contract before you sign it. Also make sure to follow submission guidelines.)</i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Trade Picture Books</b> (at both small and large publishers): There are writers who don’t illustrate, so there are publishers who look for illustrators. Two ways you can get your work in front of editors and art directors by having a website and sending out postcards. Don’t forget to also send postcards to agents if you’re looking for an agent and they represent illustrators. Note: Always follow submission guidelines. If an editor, art director, or publisher prefers an email with a link to your website, send that instead of a postcard. If they don’t want emails, send a postcard if they accept snail mail.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Educational Publishing:</b> Textbooks, study workbooks/worksheets, and home schooling materials are all part of educational publishing, and a lot of those materials need illustrations. Research companies and guidelines so you know what they’re looking for before you submit. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Work For Hire</b> (a.k.a. WFH): Some publishers, packagers, and magazines need illustrations and purchase all rights for a fee. WFH isn’t for everyone. Consider reading about it and/or talking with others who have done it before you dive in.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Art For Older Kids:</b> Don't forget to think about illustrating covers, black and white illustrations for the interiors of chapter books and middle grade novels, and graphic novels. Check out current books at the library or bookstore to see what kind of work is being published now, and who publishes it. Send postcards or website links to publishers as requested in their submission guidelines.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><b> </b><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* New publishers and upstart epublishers:</b> New publishers can be wonderful opportunities or shady businesses that you'll wish you stayed away from. Beware of who they are and what kind of contract you're signing before you decide to work with them. Carefully look over the contract for what they are asking for in terms of rights and non-compete clauses. Have a lawyer go over the contract before you sign too.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Children’s magazines</b> (both print and online): Again, beware of the contract you're signing, the rights you're giving them, and whether or not you're being paid (they should pay you, although there may be a case where you believe in something enough to illustrate for free). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Self publishing:</b> If you go that route, make sure you’re getting a fair price for your time, skills and expertise, and make sure you have a contract to protect yourself should the deal go sideways. Always make sure to factor into the contract what’s allowed for changes to the art, and at what point they will have to pay extra for continued changes. Do research to see what other illustrators are charging, what questions they ask before working with self publishers, and what to avoid based on experiences others have had with difficult jobs. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Other Advice For Illustrators:</b></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Don't discount luck.</b> You could get lucky and be at the right place at the right time for a great opportunity. Luck plays a large part in a lot of careers. But don't count on being one of the lucky ones either. Most of the time you have to make your own luck, by having a great portfolio and getting your name and work known, so that you're in the position to be in the right place at the right time.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Consider joining SCBWI.</b> If you do decide to pursue illustration for children, then an SCBWI membership is something I'd recommend. It's true that there are more resources for writers, but they are increasing the resources for illustrators. And don't discount the advice for writers. I've learned a lot about illustrating for kids by learning about writing stories for them. The biggest benefit of the SCBWI (for me) has been community. Meeting people, going to conferences, sharing resources and critiques. Finding others that are at the same stage in their journey is important, so that you have someone who understands where you're at and can cheer you on (and you can cheer them on too).</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><b> </b><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Even if you don’t join SCBWI, check out their discussion board.</b> The general sections of the board are open to the public, some sections are only for members (FYI - membership to the discussion boards is free), and there are SCBWI only sections as well. Look through the posts on the discussion board for illustration, contracts, magazines, small publishers, etc. There's a ton of info there about the industry. It will give you a better idea of what it's all about and whether or not you want to pursue children's books and illustrating for children.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Five things for illustrators </b>(that have helped me with illustrating for children, and will hopefully help you too): <a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2014/12/five-things-for-illustrators-aka-five.html">http://sruble.blogspot.com/2014/12/five-things-for-illustrators-aka-five.html</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* The truth</b> is that if you want to make a living in this field, you will likely have to do many different jobs/types of illustration for kids. At least at first. Being able to draw people, especially children is a big advantage, but if you're really good at drawing animals, that could work too. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><b> </b><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* The biggest thing is to have a strong portfolio</b> that reflects the market you're trying to work in. So, if you want to illustrate for kids, you need to look at the art in picture books, chapter books and middle grade novels, children's magazines, and online sites for children. Think about your strengths and what you like to draw. Then consider where you might fit in to this market. Create art to focus on that. When you have a really strong portfolio, that you think can compete with the art that's out there for what you want to do, start submitting. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Attend conferences and sign up for critiques</b> if you are able to. It can be a great help to go to a conference and get a professional critique. Just remember that everything is subjective, and you could have two portfolio reviews with two people on the same day, one of which will love your art and one who will hate it (it's happened to me many times). Either way, if you get constructive feedback on what's working, what's not, and how to improve for the market you want to illustrate for, it's a successful critique. Unfortunately, not all critiques are successful, but most give you some take away that will help your art and career. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Consider creating a dummy</b> to go with your portfolio. If you don’t have a story you’ve written, take a classic public domain story, like Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel and Gretel, and put your own spin on it to show how you’d interpret a story. Not sure how to make a dummy? Here’s a post I wrote on three ways to make a picture book dummy that could help, or maybe make you laugh. http://sruble.blogspot.com/2015/12/3-ways-to-make-picture-book-dummy.html</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* Consider writing a picture book.</b> Okay, I know I said this was all about illustrating and NOT writing, but sometimes pictures decide they need stories. If that happens to you and you need some advice of writing a picture book, check out my post on how to write a picture book in twelve easy steps (note – it’s not really easy, but it is doable). http://sruble.blogspot.com/2014/05/how-to-write-picture-book-in-twelve.html</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>* If you decide you want to illustrate, but not for children</b>, you will still need to do research on whatever field you decide you do want to illustrate for, and you'll need a strong portfolio. Remember that in any field, it will take time to break in. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i><b>Good luck, and most of all, have fun making art!</b></i></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><i>*runs off to make new art for the new year*</i><br /><br /><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><b>If you're interested in becoming a picture book illustrator and/or writer,</b> here are some of my past posts that might help:</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-path-illustrators-take-to-get-their.html" target="_blank">The Path Illustrators Take To Get Their Work Noticed And Advance Their Careers</a> </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2014/12/five-things-for-illustrators-aka-five.html" target="_blank">Five Tips For Illustrators&nbsp;&nbsp; </a></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><a href="https://sruble.blogspot.com/2017/07/making-art-for-fun-is-important-plus.html" target="_blank">The Importance Of Making Art For Fun </a></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="style12" style="color: black;"><br /><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2015/12/3-ways-to-make-picture-book-dummy.html" target="_blank">Three Ways To Make A Picture Book Dummy&nbsp; </a><br /><br /><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2015/01/ten-tips-for-choosing-what-to-draw-for.html" target="_blank">Ten Tips For Choosing What To Draw For Your Portfolio, And Ten Ways To Find Inspiration</a><br /><br /><a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2014/05/how-to-write-picture-book-in-twelve.html" target="_blank">How To Write A Picture Book In Twelve Easy Steps&nbsp; </a></span></span></i></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-72347087215603832442016-11-28T23:07:00.001-05:002016-11-29T15:19:45.544-05:00good deeds to end the year<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><b>Good Deeds To End The Year </b></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">2016 was a rough year for a lot of people.* Do you want to do something good to end the year, and maybe make it a little bit better? Here are a few suggestions for things you can do now (and throughout 2017 too). There are options for everyone, some are free and some require a donation of time, goods, or money.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><br />Note: This is not an exhaustive list, so please feel free to add more good deeds and donation ideas in the comments. Also, though it is written with a US audience in mind, many of these suggestions are applicable in other areas with local information and organizations substituted in.<br /><br /><b>&nbsp;Book Related Good Deeds:</b><br />1. Check out books by your favorite authors and illustrators from the library (circulation helps libraries decide which books to buy). If you don't see a book you're looking for, ask the library if they can purchase it or get it for you through an interlibrary loan. You can do this for new releases and older books too.<br /><br />2. Review books from your favorite authors and illustrators on your blog, a book review site, or a bookstore site. Reviews help readers find new books and help authors and illustrators sell books. You can do this for new books, but please don't forget older books too. Your old favorites could be a new favorite for another reader.<br /><br />3. Buy books from your favorite authors and illustrators </span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"> (especially children's books because they're awesome - okay, I might be a bit biased, but children's books are awesome)</span>! Buy from local independent bookstores if you can. Click here - <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/" target="_blank">http://www.indiebound.org</a>- to find your local stores. If you don't have children, you could give books to a child of a friend or family member (or read them yourself- kids books are for everyone and they're awesome, really, they are). Don't know a kid to give a book to? Possible places to donate books are your local library, school, hospital/ children's hospital, or holiday toy/book drives. It's great to do this for new books and older books too.<br /><br />4. Check out, review, and buy books from authors and illustrators who are new to you. Please consider boosting the books of diverse authors and illustrators, and women too. It's great to do this for new releases, but don't forget books released in other years.<br /><br />5. Donate to book related organizations. Here are a few possibilities: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- Your local library (many libraries accept books and/or monetary donations)&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- First Book - <a href="http://www.firstbook.org/" target="_blank">www.firstbook.org</a></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;(Now thru Dec. 31, <a href="https://secure3.convio.net/book/site/Donation2?df_id=3885&amp;mfc_pref=T&amp;3885.donation=form1&amp;_ga=1.94581913.489125614.1469225628" target="_blank">for every $3 donated to First Book, Random House will donate 2 books</a>.)</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- Reading is Fundamental - <a href="http://www.rif.org/" target="_blank">www.rif.org</a></span>&nbsp;</span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"></span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- We Need Diverse Books - website: <a href="http://www.diversebooks.org/">www.diversebooks.org</a> / Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/diversebooks/" target="_blank">@diversebooks</a>&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">(<a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?token=OSN2umjfsE14ivwuGuSP1-bvikwowRDS-ZD2HpEPEYO3IKd-BF2IVaM0pteqeiqBRZfOSm" target="_blank">give a direct gift to WNDB here</a>, or donate to the <a href="http://www.ebay.com/usr/weneeddiversebooks" target="_blank">WNDB end of the year fundraiser</a>)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><br /><b>People Related Good Deeds:</b><br />1. Do something small for someone you don't know, like hold open a door, give them your seat on the bus/train, or compliment their winter hat. (There are so many fun winter hats - hat that look like animals, hats with stripes, or polka dots, or hats with giant puffballs on top!)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">2. Stand up and support others if you see/hear a hateful attack. If it’s not safe, call the police and/or an ambulance, and/or film what’s happening to document it.<br /><br />3. If you, or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, please reach out for help. The National Suicide Lifeline number is 1-800-273-8255 Their website is <a href="http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/">www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org</a>. You can also find them on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/800273TALK" target="_blank">@800273TALK</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">4. Volunteer to read to patients at the local hospital/children's hospital or nursing home. Or offer to play games/cards, or entertain them if you're a musician. Or volunteer to help serve meals to the homeless, or deliver meals to the elderly and others who need it.<br /><br />5. Do something bigger if you're able to, like pay for a bus/train ride for someone who doesn't have enough for the fare, or pay for a coffee or groceries. We all need a little help sometimes.<br /><br />6. Donate books and clothing to local or national organizations that accept them.<br /><br />7. Consider giving food and/or money to your local food bank or other local organizations that help out your community.<br /><br />8. There are national and international organizations that could use your monetary help too. Here are a few:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.aclu.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- ACLU</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/" target="_blank">Southern Poverty Law Center </a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.heifer.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- Heifer International</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="http://www.ienearth.org/stand-with-standing-rock-no-dapl/" target="_blank">No DAPL</a> - There are multiple donation sites to help this organization, who is fighting for the protection of water for all of us (<a href="https://twitter.com/nativeapprops/status/801816120554491904" target="_blank">this Twitter thread has a list</a>). Or <a href="http://www.ocetisakowincamp.org/" target="_blank">donate to the main camp here</a>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.plannedparenthood.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- Planned Parenthood</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="https://www.hfotusa.org/" target="_blank">Homes For Our Troops</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="http://www.operationhomefront.net/" target="_blank">Operation Homefront</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="https://www.dav.org/" target="_blank">Disabled American Veterans</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="http://www.heart.org/" target="_blank">American Heart Association</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="http://www.cancer.org/" target="_blank">American Cancer Society</a> </span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><br /><b>Animal Related Good Deeds:</b><br />1. Offer to volunteer at your local animal shelter to walk dogs, or read to cats, or anything they need help with.<br /><br />2. Donate pet food, toys, and/or money to local animal shelters or organizations that can use the help.<br /><br />3. Here are some national and international organizations you can donate to that will use the money to help animals.<br /><br />- <a href="http://www.humanesociety.org/" target="_blank">Humane Society of the United States</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="http://www.animalleague.org/" target="_blank">North Shore Animal League </a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/" target="_blank">World Wildlife Fund (WWF)</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> (helps animals and our planet)<br /><br /><b>Current Event Good Deeds:</b><br />1. Call your Senators and Representatives in Congress. There are many issues facing our country. Let your Senators and Representatives know what you think about issues and how they can help you (they were elected to help the people of their districts and the people of this country). Call often. If you can't call, you can write them instead, or better yet, do both.<br /><br />Not sure who to call?&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- Find your House Representative here: <a href="http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/">http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/</a></span><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- Find your Senators here: <a href="http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/">http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/</a><br /><br />Not sure how to call? Comic creator Lucy Knisley made up some <a href="http://www.lucyknisley.com/calling-cards" target="_blank">calling cards</a> to show how she does it. You can make your own for whatever issue you're calling about. <a href="http://www.lucyknisley.com/calling-cards" target="_blank">Click here to see Lucy Knisley's calling cards.</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Have social anxiety? <a href="http://echothroughthefog.cordeliadillon.com/post/153393286626/how-to-call-your-reps-when-you-have-social-anxiety" target="_blank">Cartoonist Cordelia McGee-Tubb made a comic showing you how. Read it here.</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">2. Call and/or write your local government officials to let them know what you think and how they can help you. They want to hear from you. They were elected to help the people in your area. Call often, or write, or both. (Note: calling is said to be the most effective.)<br /><br />Note: Talking to local and national government officials who represent you can seem overwhelming, especially if you haven't done it before. Start small. What is one thing you care about, or that affects your family, or friends, or community? Work to help with that one thing. Call or write about that this week. Next week tackle another issue that matters to you. It's hard, but it gets easier the more you do it. Pretty soon you'll be able to pick up the phone and call for all the issues you feel passionate about. They work for you; let your voice be heard. <a href="http://www.lucyknisley.com/calling-cards" target="_blank">These calling cards</a> and/or <a href="http://echothroughthefog.cordeliadillon.com/post/153393286626/how-to-call-your-reps-when-you-have-social-anxiety" target="_blank">this comic about calling when you have social anxiety</a> (both also listed above) might help if you don't know where to start.<br /><br />3. Vary your news sources. It's hard to know the truth and be informed if you are only watching one news channel or getting your news from social media.<br /><br />Note: This applies to everyone, no matter your religious or political affiliations. If you are only reading and seeing news that agrees with your point of view, you're not getting the full story.<br /><br />4. Add international news to your viewing/reading routine. It's interesting to see how they cover our news, and it's good to be aware of events that are happening around the world. Things that happen in other countries can affect what happens here too.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">5. Subscribe to publications to help support journalism and a free press. Here are a few publications that have been doing good work this year and could use your subscriptions and/or support:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- Your local paper</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us" target="_blank">The Guardian</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">- <a href="http://www.teenvogue.com/" target="_blank">Teen Vogue</a> (Seriously, they’ve been doing great work covering news and politics this year – check out their twitter feed <a href="https://twitter.com/TeenVogue" target="_blank">@TeenVogue</a>, and never, ever, underestimate teen girls.)<br /><br />6. Consider running for office or helping someone you believe in run for office. Change is possible when citizens get involved.<br /><br />7. Vote in every election you're eligible to vote in, whether it's a local election for school board, mayor, or sheriff, or a state election, or a national election. Your vote and your voice matter.<br /><br /><b>Thanks For Doing Good Deeds! </b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">These are just a few ways you can help out to end 2016 on a good note, and most of these are things you can do to help out all year round. Again, this is not an exhaustive list, so please feel free to add suggestions of ways to help in the comments. </span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Please consider sharing this post with people you know who are looking for good deeds to do, or just put a link up on social media for anyone who is interested.&nbsp;</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;</span></span><br />Thanks for helping to make our country and the world a better place! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">* Just a few of the many reasons 2016 was a rough year: mass shootings, Brexit, Aleppo, terrorist attacks, politics and the US election, the refugee crisis, and celebrity deaths (including – Alan Rickman, David Bowie, Prince, Leonard Cohen, Phife Dawg, Lemmy Kilmister, Patty Duke, Gene Wilder, Natalie Cole, Dan Haggerty, Glenn Frey, Abe Vigoda, Florence Henderson, Ron Glass, Harper Lee, and Anna Dewdney – and that’s not even a full list, and we’re not done with the year yet).</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-72210584383964590712016-11-03T11:54:00.000-04:002016-11-03T15:34:33.546-04:00birthday wishes, IF, inktober, and HalloweenIn honor of my birthday yesterday, I did a sketch of a little girl and her cat, just before she makes a wish and blows out the candles on her cake.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zBMzB7Qdrjw/WBtaD7HWCzI/AAAAAAAACwk/Ple7g6lAueAbjvhWWk1J9swfn_1MdpxsACEw/s1600/sruble_bdywsh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zBMzB7Qdrjw/WBtaD7HWCzI/AAAAAAAACwk/Ple7g6lAueAbjvhWWk1J9swfn_1MdpxsACEw/s1600/sruble_bdywsh.jpg" /></a></div><br />Here's a close up so you can see the girl and cat better:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R_mvOLMEu0Q/WBuRPT0q8YI/AAAAAAAACw8/xyzl4FJhqJAq8eo0XsY3-buHhFttbVqaACLcB/s1600/sruble_bdywsh_crp2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R_mvOLMEu0Q/WBuRPT0q8YI/AAAAAAAACw8/xyzl4FJhqJAq8eo0XsY3-buHhFttbVqaACLcB/s1600/sruble_bdywsh_crp2.jpg" /></a></div><br />Then today I realized that before she could be in that picture, we needed to see her the year before, making the wish that brought her toy cat to life. She also wished for her cat to be able to talk. She didn't bargain on the fact that Kitty would lots of opinions and like to talk all the time! Also, since the <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> prompt for this week is stripes, I decided to give her a stripey cake (the cat's tail has stripes too): <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YyqxA6vEoHk/WBtam-A98pI/AAAAAAAACwo/mlX1dpRULEsgcIWBPBNsGppj0KCfOwrZwCLcB/s1600/sruble_bdywsh2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YyqxA6vEoHk/WBtam-A98pI/AAAAAAAACwo/mlX1dpRULEsgcIWBPBNsGppj0KCfOwrZwCLcB/s1600/sruble_bdywsh2.jpg" /></a></div><br />October and <a href="http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober" target="_blank">inktober</a> are over, but the art lives on here on my blog! Here are the last 4 inktober drawings* - they're all cell pics, as I didn't have my scanner with me while traveling:<br /><br />Day 28: It was a swirling, whirling, ghosting kind of day!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_OWMOkDKdaQ/WBtW6oCnWXI/AAAAAAAACwI/vhtVs5NeaOYBysdm2hs0B9Coy8RflThFACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr28ghstswrls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_OWMOkDKdaQ/WBtW6oCnWXI/AAAAAAAACwI/vhtVs5NeaOYBysdm2hs0B9Coy8RflThFACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr28ghstswrls.jpg" /></a></div><br />Day 29:It was Hug A Sheep Day! This ghostie is hugging her best sheep friend.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NgOg2DRX6eg/WBtXGu25PxI/AAAAAAAACwM/JmFIsgK0pCk1_cDyoM9dHuzRLfrzqS8vQCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr29ghsthgshp.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NgOg2DRX6eg/WBtXGu25PxI/AAAAAAAACwM/JmFIsgK0pCk1_cDyoM9dHuzRLfrzqS8vQCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr29ghsthgshp.jpg" /></a></div><br />Day 30:It was Candy Corn Day! Did you know that ghosts love candy corn? Nom! Nom! Nom!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gjxvjmFsIPA/WBtYBt26PdI/AAAAAAAACwQ/6m1pVFM2MxMyz6bfth6w2cv5MRpvDE5dgCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr30ghstcndycrn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gjxvjmFsIPA/WBtYBt26PdI/AAAAAAAACwQ/6m1pVFM2MxMyz6bfth6w2cv5MRpvDE5dgCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr30ghstcndycrn.jpg" /></a></div><br />Day 31: Happy Halloween! Got home from my trip just in time for Halloween, but missed a few trick-or-treaters because I had to go out and get candy. My final inktober drawing was the teal and orange pumpkin sign I made for our door. I drew 30 days of ghosts and two pumpkins on the last day! We only had one kid who needed allergy free treats, but it was totally worth it to see his smile and to see/hear the parents freak out that someone had thought to get treats that their child could have (we gave him Halloween notebooks, pencils and glow in the dark stickers):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oW0uNRfvYr4/WBtY9rnU_OI/AAAAAAAACwY/kAR1slRfHSwUxBsONGR-GcopctU5qA_CgCLcB/s1600/sruble_TealOrangePumpkins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oW0uNRfvYr4/WBtY9rnU_OI/AAAAAAAACwY/kAR1slRfHSwUxBsONGR-GcopctU5qA_CgCLcB/s400/sruble_TealOrangePumpkins.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Happy Three Days After Halloween and the end of inktober! Hope you all had a creative month!<br /><br />* To see my inktober ghosts from the first 14 days of the month, <a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2016/10/inktober-trick-or-reaters-halloween.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. Or if you want to see my inktober ghosts from days 15-27 (including writing and illustrating ghosts), <a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2016/10/inktober-and-fun-holidays-happy-black.html" target="_blank">click here</a>. I had lots of fun drawing ghosts all month. I think my favorite one is Day 12 - still makes me laugh! Though I also really like Day 22. My dad likes them all (he's biased), but his favorite is Day 27 (the first image, without the cat - though he also likes the second one, with the cat).<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-83057667149401200302016-10-27T18:20:00.000-04:002016-11-03T11:28:38.747-04:00Inktober and fun holidays - Happy Black Cat Day! It's still <a href="http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober" target="_blank">inktober</a>. I usually pick a different subject for each week of inktober, with an overall theme of Halloween. However, this year, I decided to draw ghosts for 31 days. Yay ghosts! Here are my ghosts since <a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2016/10/inktober-trick-or-reaters-halloween.html" target="_blank">my last inktober post</a> (in reverse order starting with today - most of these are cell pics, as I didn't have my scanner with me while traveling):<br /><br />Day 27 (today): Happy Black Cat Day! I didn't know it was Black Cat Day when I did my ink drawing of a ghost hiding in a hollow tree, but then I found out, so I did another drawing of a ghost and a black cat hanging out in a tree:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2LyDispGMY8/WBJ2P8kDybI/AAAAAAAACuw/q3lZqwr9Kt4ZwcRjDvMOA8kV3tWWTsp9QCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr27ghstkttytre2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2LyDispGMY8/WBJ2P8kDybI/AAAAAAAACuw/q3lZqwr9Kt4ZwcRjDvMOA8kV3tWWTsp9QCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr27ghstkttytre2.jpg" /></a></div><br />Day 26: Happy Pumpkin Day! Didn't know it was pumpkin day when I drew my picture yesterday, but my little ghost was getting ready for a pumpkin party, so it worked out well.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BtKjURray0Q/WBJ2tRwIRVI/AAAAAAAACu0/ZktKDxP9_38SCFgCCfosXVTZ278TLMUswCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr26ghstpnkns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BtKjURray0Q/WBJ2tRwIRVI/AAAAAAAACu0/ZktKDxP9_38SCFgCCfosXVTZ278TLMUswCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr26ghstpnkns.jpg" /></a></div><br />Days 24-25: Monday Morning Ghost Traffic and a Big Tuesday Pancake Breakfast! (What? ghosts have to get to work, and they like pancakes too.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3WVeWRpBBQA/WBJ5t7GC_lI/AAAAAAAACvI/_rE2VBazuL4FfqVHE5AJyubt-hx7thD2gCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr24-25ghsts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3WVeWRpBBQA/WBJ5t7GC_lI/AAAAAAAACvI/_rE2VBazuL4FfqVHE5AJyubt-hx7thD2gCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr24-25ghsts.jpg" /></a></div><br />Days 22-23: Once A Reader (or a painter) Always A Reader (or a painter).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIlZajnfh6A/WBJ5URvu9HI/AAAAAAAACvA/S-fYcKbliCAz5vI0AHkSRuHUH0xeXTXcACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr22-23ghsts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZIlZajnfh6A/WBJ5URvu9HI/AAAAAAAACvA/S-fYcKbliCAz5vI0AHkSRuHUH0xeXTXcACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr22-23ghsts.jpg" /></a></div><br />Days 20 - 21: Ghost Writers work long hours and like to take naps to dream up their next story:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HkyXTlsF8Nc/WBJ6Z60-CSI/AAAAAAAACvQ/B9rHYKB1jvQI1yMplyq5I7NZvndNlxq8ACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr20-21ghsts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HkyXTlsF8Nc/WBJ6Z60-CSI/AAAAAAAACvQ/B9rHYKB1jvQI1yMplyq5I7NZvndNlxq8ACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr20-21ghsts.jpg" /></a></div><br />Day 19:&nbsp; Pug among ghosts:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Afn1oO2T-O0/WBJ6qs-fnRI/AAAAAAAACvU/DCKwUE3C3fgWPsvWE3ypQABpB_YSXvzBgCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr19ghstpgg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Afn1oO2T-O0/WBJ6qs-fnRI/AAAAAAAACvU/DCKwUE3C3fgWPsvWE3ypQABpB_YSXvzBgCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr19ghstpgg.jpg" /></a></div><br />Days 17 -18: Ghost Kitty needs to find her friends and decorate her pumpkin! These two drawings are from my <a href="http://sruble.com/HalloweenFun.html" target="_blank">Halloween Activities for kids</a> page. There are six activities, including Dot to Dot, matching ghosts, pumpkin decorating, finishing a drawing, finding a pumpkin and ghost in the pumpkin patch, and a leaf maze (all featuring Ghost Kitty from <a href="http://trickorreaters.com/2016/10/10/ewe-and-aye/" target="_blank">my new Halloween story, Glide and EEK! </a>). <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N7q56zqZbDE/WBJ7s4KDhdI/AAAAAAAACvg/qeY6vlYSnSY6mYSOCfGIgvzAQykHlw64wCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr17-18ghstkttys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N7q56zqZbDE/WBJ7s4KDhdI/AAAAAAAACvg/qeY6vlYSnSY6mYSOCfGIgvzAQykHlw64wCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr17-18ghstkttys.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Day 16: Ghost and Ghost Kitty - also from the Halloween Activities page. (Note: the original file doesn't have the dot in the center. Not sure why it's there when I upload it. Weird!) <a href="http://sruble.com/HalloweenFun.html" target="_blank">Click here if you're looking for Halloween Activities to do with kids (or for yourself, just for fun).</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YDK4us0CJ4M/WBJ8a4dNp4I/AAAAAAAACvo/AUuas2J4vgUgdQLN5eH-KvqJn7GKVWugACEw/s1600/sruble_inktbr16ghstpmpknktty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YDK4us0CJ4M/WBJ8a4dNp4I/AAAAAAAACvo/AUuas2J4vgUgdQLN5eH-KvqJn7GKVWugACEw/s1600/sruble_inktbr16ghstpmpknktty.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br />Day 15: Pfft! (I think the ghost is upset at being last, or is ready to be done with this post.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o5MzGSvnFhk/WBJ9BST-YPI/AAAAAAAACvs/cpxgA_EkJtUKtUqMVLV1ngysVzUsMwjUACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr15ghstpfft.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o5MzGSvnFhk/WBJ9BST-YPI/AAAAAAAACvs/cpxgA_EkJtUKtUqMVLV1ngysVzUsMwjUACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr15ghstpfft.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br />Happy Black Cat Day! Happy Inktober! Happy Haunting! <div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-62351454623149522932016-10-13T18:41:00.000-04:002016-10-13T18:50:26.753-04:00inktober, Trick Or Reaters, Halloween Activities for kids, and Illustration FridayHappy October! Happy <a href="http://mrjakeparker.com/inktober" target="_blank">Inktober</a>! I've been making lots of art for inktober again this year. My theme for the month (so far) has been ghosts. (Note: I post my inks every day on social media if you want to see them in between blog posts. The current art is pinned at the top of <a href="https://twitter.com/StephanieRuble" target="_blank">my twitter feed</a> after I post each day.)<br /><br />Here are my inktober ghosts so far:<br />Day One: A full page ink with my character Ghost Kitty surrounded by regular ghosts. Ghost Kitty is the main character in a short (not so) scary ghost story that I wrote and illustrated for <a href="http://trickorreaters.com/" target="_blank">Trick Or Reaters</a> this year. It's called <a href="http://trickorreaters.com/2016/10/10/ewe-and-aye/" target="_blank">Glide and EEK! Click here to read it.</a>&nbsp; <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g-aVmV_AQik/WAACblcY3vI/AAAAAAAACrk/B4gqTny-ipI5LdsrctMVI5MLV_7abeKdQCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr01gstswrl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-g-aVmV_AQik/WAACblcY3vI/AAAAAAAACrk/B4gqTny-ipI5LdsrctMVI5MLV_7abeKdQCLcB/s320/sruble_inktbr01gstswrl.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><br />FYI: I also designed a flyer for people to had out to trick-or-treaters so kids (and their parents) know they can go to Trick Or Reaters to read scary stories (at all levels of scary). Would you like a flier to hand out to trick-or-treaters? <a href="http://trickorreaters.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/TOR_2Flyer_StephanieRuble.pdf" target="_blank">Click here download my flyer (shown below). </a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QHctzfjjm1o/WAALedyW50I/AAAAAAAACss/3xizBin_EEI1DGESptfHwyx8t2ZsxLY0gCLcB/s1600/sruble_TORflier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QHctzfjjm1o/WAALedyW50I/AAAAAAAACss/3xizBin_EEI1DGESptfHwyx8t2ZsxLY0gCLcB/s400/sruble_TORflier.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />Days Two - Seven: Ghosts with patterns and/or a connection to nature.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CzSed08lUyY/WAAD4HZxbcI/AAAAAAAACrs/TGjGgxq-0ZEEqg5UEMsc3JiL4GU2OmHNwCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr02-07gsts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CzSed08lUyY/WAAD4HZxbcI/AAAAAAAACrs/TGjGgxq-0ZEEqg5UEMsc3JiL4GU2OmHNwCLcB/s320/sruble_inktbr02-07gsts.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br />Day Eight: Here's one of the ghosts from my short (not so) scary ghost story, <a href="http://trickorreaters.com/2016/10/10/ewe-and-aye/" target="_blank">Glide and EEK!</a> <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mugDIquQlic/WAAEuSxAWmI/AAAAAAAACrw/xAVADPeJiR00aEPwVkG2gJNnvHEu1IVEACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr08gstinpmkn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mugDIquQlic/WAAEuSxAWmI/AAAAAAAACrw/xAVADPeJiR00aEPwVkG2gJNnvHEu1IVEACLcB/s320/sruble_inktbr08gstinpmkn.jpg" width="222" /></a></div><br />Day Nine: Cheep! Moo! Chirp! Boo!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TWpPB1dHwMA/WAAE4BBrKHI/AAAAAAAACr0/wJ9faxLVfKo0WwYyKwt6-VqTdlxu86KRQCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr09gsthtchlng2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="155" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TWpPB1dHwMA/WAAE4BBrKHI/AAAAAAAACr0/wJ9faxLVfKo0WwYyKwt6-VqTdlxu86KRQCLcB/s400/sruble_inktbr09gsthtchlng2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Day Ten: Ghost Kitty says, "EEK!" This is another image from my short (not so) scary ghost story, <a href="http://trickorreaters.com/2016/10/10/ewe-and-aye/" target="_blank">Glide and EEK!</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h-eJ6rpSy2I/WAAFy1hnCjI/AAAAAAAACsI/5D7W0gMPTtU2nzj3gTbrFjCVf6Q2r66tgCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr10ghstsEEK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h-eJ6rpSy2I/WAAFy1hnCjI/AAAAAAAACsI/5D7W0gMPTtU2nzj3gTbrFjCVf6Q2r66tgCLcB/s400/sruble_inktbr10ghstsEEK.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Day Eleven: Leaf maze! This is from my <a href="http://sruble.com/HalloweenFun.html" target="_blank">Halloween Activities for kids</a> page. There are six activities, including Dot to Dot, matching ghosts, pumpkin decorating, finishing a drawing, finding a pumpkin and ghost in the pumpkin patch, and the leaf maze (featuring Ghost Kitty looking for her pumpkin). <a href="http://sruble.com/HalloweenFun.html" target="_blank">Click here if you're looking for Halloween Activities to do with kids (or for yourself, just for fun).</a><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bidxYfehM5k/WAAGDS-lHtI/AAAAAAAACsM/j_MFCGrgZpILGGUuKfnILxcwdWSTe73lACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr11leefmze.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bidxYfehM5k/WAAGDS-lHtI/AAAAAAAACsM/j_MFCGrgZpILGGUuKfnILxcwdWSTe73lACLcB/s320/sruble_inktbr11leefmze.jpg" width="284" /></a></div><br />Day Twelve: "Hello Again!" says G.H. Ost. (Couldn't resist.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u-EUFJqxkQE/WAAHcN4Gr5I/AAAAAAAACsY/caZTXLqhJt8nsBuzso1budENExpmhisqQCEw/s1600/sruble_inktbr12gsthlloagin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u-EUFJqxkQE/WAAHcN4Gr5I/AAAAAAAACsY/caZTXLqhJt8nsBuzso1budENExpmhisqQCEw/s320/sruble_inktbr12gsthlloagin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Day Thirteen: Ghost + Penguins (part one). This is also for the <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> prompt for this week, which is ice. The penguins are on an iceberg ... oh no, here comes a ghost!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_HK7h8RTsTI/WAAILSw29xI/AAAAAAAACsc/7ymqUGe82ZsaaHVssxioVXtg9H5B7EspACLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr13ghstspngns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_HK7h8RTsTI/WAAILSw29xI/AAAAAAAACsc/7ymqUGe82ZsaaHVssxioVXtg9H5B7EspACLcB/s400/sruble_inktbr13ghstspngns.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Day Fourteen: Ghost + Penguins (part two). This is actually tomorrow's inking, but since I'm going to be inking something for a different project tomorrow, I did it today and am posting early. (The penguins are still on the Illustration Friday iceberg ... and now the ghost is too.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MUma22mrU-E/WAAIP4F6HBI/AAAAAAAACsg/6AglWRDSe10a4gnpBzxPBIpyCdQSDU1hwCLcB/s1600/sruble_inktbr14ghstspngns02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MUma22mrU-E/WAAIP4F6HBI/AAAAAAAACsg/6AglWRDSe10a4gnpBzxPBIpyCdQSDU1hwCLcB/s400/sruble_inktbr14ghstspngns02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Am considering continuing the Ghost + Penguins story. Not sure yet, but there might be more to this story. But there will be no more to this blog post! This is the end! It's too long already!<br /><br />*waves goodbye* Happy October! Happy Inktober! Happy (almost) Halloween!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-11253176487611636982016-09-21T09:34:00.000-04:002016-09-21T09:39:06.003-04:00inside out umbrella - art inspired by Edward Gorey for Illustration FridayWhen I read that the <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> prompt for this week is rain, my first thought was of being stuck in a storm when your umbrella flips inside out. I did a quick sketch of the idea (and my mood for the day) and got this:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymPyqiA9kd8/V-KJiY5j4cI/AAAAAAAACrA/mzdgjaTRVhozUWXTZ_8P-eOifF06neKeACLcB/s1600/sruble_umbrllamood_sktch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ymPyqiA9kd8/V-KJiY5j4cI/AAAAAAAACrA/mzdgjaTRVhozUWXTZ_8P-eOifF06neKeACLcB/s1600/sruble_umbrllamood_sktch.jpg" /></a></div><br />Showed it to my DH, who said it reminded him of <a href="http://www.biography.com/news/edward-gorey-biography-facts" target="_blank">Edward Gorey</a>, which improved my mood considerably! I hadn't meant to channel Gorey, but I love his art. When I went on to draw a more finished image, I decided to actually think about Gorey while drawing. This is the result:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CEIBFN5dmEg/V-KKj-ruN1I/AAAAAAAACrE/HjmX0UffpyolHe4WlAdTmtS0Rlb_LCVuACLcB/s1600/sruble_umbrllamood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CEIBFN5dmEg/V-KKj-ruN1I/AAAAAAAACrE/HjmX0UffpyolHe4WlAdTmtS0Rlb_LCVuACLcB/s1600/sruble_umbrllamood.jpg" /></a></div><br />The finished result is not an imitation of Gorey's art or style, but I think the influence and inspiration is obvious. What do you think?<br /><br />Here's a crop so you can get a closer look at the details:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lIDr5t0IhG8/V-KKyo6P-qI/AAAAAAAACrI/ltYSHF82U8gl9W3Fh_y4cJxVhMC0o9K6QCLcB/s1600/sruble_umbrllamood_crp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lIDr5t0IhG8/V-KKyo6P-qI/AAAAAAAACrI/ltYSHF82U8gl9W3Fh_y4cJxVhMC0o9K6QCLcB/s1600/sruble_umbrllamood_crp.jpg" /></a></div><br />Hope your day today is sunny! It's a rainy day for you, I hope that your umbrella stays open the right way and keeps you dry. Or better yet, I hope you can stay inside and draw! If your mood is rainy, I hope you can find an artist or a story that will inspire you, or possibly turn your mood around.<br /><br />Note: The images were drawn on a tan colored paper that looks a bit peach when scanned.&nbsp; <div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-62232434686798513332016-09-20T09:32:00.000-04:002016-09-20T09:53:29.423-04:00Talk Like A Pirate Day / Talk Like A Cow DayYesterday was Talk Like A Pirate Day. Arr!<br /><br />Did you celebrate?<br /><br />What are your favorite pirate sayings?<br /><br />It's always a fun day, whether you participate or just read/see/listen to what others are doing. In other years I've created art for it and wanted to make something fun again this year. I didn't have an idea before Talk Like A Pirate Day. Then I didn't have an idea for most of yesterday, until a cow (it's always a cow with me) and her parrot popped into my head. The idea for the image didn't come until I had the idea for a pirate saying. Talking like a pirate is not easy! This is the result:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z-e1UR0Az0M/V-E3T-cu6ZI/AAAAAAAACqg/acJ_IqsUyEgdhsl5MgbpFZTJ7TufpzkyQCLcB/s1600/sruble_TlkLkPrteCw09.16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z-e1UR0Az0M/V-E3T-cu6ZI/AAAAAAAACqg/acJ_IqsUyEgdhsl5MgbpFZTJ7TufpzkyQCLcB/s1600/sruble_TlkLkPrteCw09.16.jpg" /></a></div><br />If you missed Talk Like A Pirate Day yesterday, celebrate today instead! Or make today Talk Like A Cow Day - MOO!<br /><br />Every day should be Talk Like A Cow Day.<br /><br />How much fun would that be?<br /><br />It would be hilari-moos!<br /><br />Happy Talk Like A Cow Day!* <br /><br />Moo!<br /><br />*People make up holidays all the time. I make up cow-lidays. Moo!<br /><br />p.s. I always like it when artists show part of their process, so here's the black line stage to show what it looked like before color was added:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c2CVScm8txU/V-E9q-qJebI/AAAAAAAACqw/YzW54ICRI6IiHppvTms6jDQKHXxO5_riQCLcB/s1600/sruble_TlkLkPrteCw09.16BW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c2CVScm8txU/V-E9q-qJebI/AAAAAAAACqw/YzW54ICRI6IiHppvTms6jDQKHXxO5_riQCLcB/s1600/sruble_TlkLkPrteCw09.16BW.jpg" /></a></div><br />Happy Talk Like A Cow Day! Are you celebrating? I am. MOO! ;)<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-18775807537017737482016-07-17T16:51:00.000-04:002016-07-18T14:11:08.508-04:00reading in 2016 - book stats and favorites April - June<style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073711037 9 0 511 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><b>2016 Book Reading Stats (April, May, June):</b><br /><br />9 Picture Books<br /><br />6 Chapter Books<br /><br />7 Middle Grade Novels<br /><br />6 YA Novels (1 pubbed as adult many years ago – now YA)<br /><br />1 Graphic Novels<br /><br />1 Non Fiction Book (about art / creativity)<br /><br />Total = 33 books!*<br /><br />* There were nine books I didn't finish that aren't in the totals above. About half were not right for me right now, though I might have enjoyed them at a different time. Unfortunately, the other half had problematic content that made me stop reading. Most of them were books I’d had for a while and hadn’t gotten around to reading yet.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;"><br />Note: 99% of these books are new reads. Each book is only counted once (each year), even if I re-read it over and over. I usually don't re-read novels, but I do re-read picture books.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">April to June 2016 - Favorites:&nbsp;</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">Since I read 33 books in 3 months, I decided to highlight 3 favorites from 3 age groups, PB, MG, and YA. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">3 Picture Book Favorites:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O8fcA6ua6Go/V4vtPX_YzqI/AAAAAAAACpU/2Eg5Fsay-MQboVSCLS21C7i1H_427RouACLcB/s1600/PBfavs4-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O8fcA6ua6Go/V4vtPX_YzqI/AAAAAAAACpU/2Eg5Fsay-MQboVSCLS21C7i1H_427RouACLcB/s1600/PBfavs4-6.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">1. THE MOST MAGNIFICENT THING by Ashley Spires – a neat book about inspiration, disappointment, and the creative process. For creative (and not yet creative) kids and adults.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">2. THE COW WHO CLIMBED A TREE by Gemma Merino – a fun book about adventure, taking risks, and being your own person/cow. For cow lovers and adventurers (even those who prefer to have their adventures in books).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">3. MIRA FORECASTS THE FUTURE by Kell Andrews, illustrated by Lissy Marlin – a blend of fiction and non combine to made an interesting story about predicting fortunes and weather, and finding out who you are or who you want to be. For readers interested in meteorology and/or who like inquisitive characters.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">3 Middle Grade Favorites:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SsV-vyFHPLg/V4vtY-IUa2I/AAAAAAAACpY/oNe-AAyyf3wIS_bThw_FuPyBHPhNt5mRgCLcB/s1600/MGfavs4-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SsV-vyFHPLg/V4vtY-IUa2I/AAAAAAAACpY/oNe-AAyyf3wIS_bThw_FuPyBHPhNt5mRgCLcB/s1600/MGfavs4-6.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">1. WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON by Grace Lin – a rich story about finding your fortune that includes a mix of old stories/myths, a journey, a dragon, and wonderful illustrations that enhance the narrative. For readers who love a layered story, or a good quest, or for readers who want to fall into the world of a book.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">2. THE WILD ROBOT by Peter Brown – an amusing and thoughtful look at what might happen if a robot were stranded on an island and had to learn how to survive. For kids and adults who love robots, or animals, or island survival stories. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">3. SEVEN STORIES UP by Laurel Snyder – a heartfelt story about family and time travel. If you’ve ever wondered what people were like when they were young, this story is a glimpse into that for one family. For readers who love time travel and stories about characters connecting in difficult or unusual circumstances.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">3 YA Favorites:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CUsAzuCYhks/V4vthpCWiLI/AAAAAAAACpc/T6ABFUMOpHMRCiPk501Z98Xiel7yscy9wCLcB/s1600/YAfavs4-6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CUsAzuCYhks/V4vthpCWiLI/AAAAAAAACpc/T6ABFUMOpHMRCiPk501Z98Xiel7yscy9wCLcB/s1600/YAfavs4-6.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">1. HOW IT WENT DOWN by Kekla Magoon – an incredible story of a senseless shooting that explores the aftermath through the eyes of the victim’s friends, family, and community. For readers who like to see all sides of a story, or who are trying to make sense of the violence in currents, or for readers who like a good story. If you haven’t read this book, move it to the top of your to read list.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">2. INHERITANCE by Malinda Lo – an intriguing story about two teens whose lives were saved and forever altered with alien DNA. It looks at the complicated issues surrounding government secrets, medical experiments, and public opinion. For readers who love aliens, sci-fi, government conspiracies, and thinking about how one decision/action can affect many things and people.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-bidi-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">3. DRAW THE LINE by Laurent Linn – a dramatic story about finding yourself, finding love, and fighting hate, that weaves together reality and fantasy through words and illustrations. For anyone who has ever wanted to be a superhero, or wished they could live a different life, or want to fight injustices that seem insurmountable, or who process experiences creatively (drawing, writing, etc.). </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">* What have you been reading lately? Any recommendations? Any favorite books this year?&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; mso-fareast-font-family: &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">p.s. If you want to see <a href="http://sruble.blogspot.com/2016/04/reading-in-2016-book-stats-and.html" target="_blank">my book stats and favorites for January, February, and March this year, Click Here.</a></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-68059501471399866822016-06-21T19:50:00.000-04:002016-06-21T19:50:55.197-04:00world giraffe day, imagination, selfie day, and a new websiteHappy World Giraffe Day and National Selfie Day! In honor of these two holidays and the <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> prompt for this week (yarn), I drew a picture of myself imagining a few characters, including a giraffe and a bird knitting a looooooong scarf with yarn:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4jibw_OZgmw/V2nQMxlTKoI/AAAAAAAACoQ/4aSEU4MXrmIg0D2699oGrJJ0zVz46vvPQCLcB/s1600/sruble_imgintnslfi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4jibw_OZgmw/V2nQMxlTKoI/AAAAAAAACoQ/4aSEU4MXrmIg0D2699oGrJJ0zVz46vvPQCLcB/s1600/sruble_imgintnslfi.jpg" /></a></div><br />Did you take a selfie today or draw a picture of yourself? Did you celebrate World Giraffe Day?<br /><br />In other news, I finally re-designed my website. WooHoo! Unfortunately, it is not as mobile friendly as I thought it would be. Boo! I thought that the fluid design I was creating was also a responsive* design, but it was not. (*Responsive designs detect the device you're using and automatically reformat the website without the user having to do anything.)<br /><br />I still like the new design, whether it's responsive or not! That said:<br /><br />Will be re-designing my website again, just as soon as I learn how to make it a responsive design. Hoping to do it this fall or winter - if all else fails, I could make a Wordpress site (though I haven't had luck with WP security and getting hacked in the past, so I'm hoping to figure out how to make a responsive site myself instead).<br /><br />Want to see the new design while it's still up? Here it is: <a href="http://www.sruble.com/">http://www.sruble.com</a>.<br /><br />Do you have a responsive website or a favorite responsive website by someone else?<br /><br />Happy World Giraffe Day and National Selfie Day!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-91727843221640931262016-06-08T18:54:00.000-04:002016-06-08T19:22:51.546-04:00follow your nose for IF, with toucans, a robot, 3 people, and a wolfThe first thing I thought of when I found out the <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> prompt this week was nose, is, "Follow your nose! It always knows!" If you know your classic cereal characters and commercials, you know that's what Toucan Sam said about finding Froot Loops (<a href="http://www.trustcollective.com/2013/08/27/the-evolution-of-froot-loops-toucan-sam-from-1960s-black-and-white-to-2013-in-3d/" target="_blank">click here</a> to see the evolution of the character and to see the old commercials starring Toucan Sam).<br /><br />I liked Toucan Sam, but the thing that always bothered me about those commercials is that the thing they were calling a nose wasn't a nose at all! It was the toucan's beak. Still liked the commercials though, especially the spooky haunted house/knight one (see link above to watch).<br /><br />Did you like Toucan Sam? Did you like the other cereal mascots? What was your favorite cereal character or commercial? Mine might be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cEOKS5-DcQ" target="_blank">Count Chocula</a>, because chocolate + monster = awesome! (Though I like several of other cereal characters too).<br /><br />After all the thoughts about cereal and toucans, I painted this image for Illustration Friday this week:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2dOljCLW8Qk/V1idKIhQsnI/AAAAAAAACm0/QUPnukEJvVYQJ6PnO1hZaC1ZyzF6TfvLwCLcB/s1600/sruble_rbrtarbt_tcns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2dOljCLW8Qk/V1idKIhQsnI/AAAAAAAACm0/QUPnukEJvVYQJ6PnO1hZaC1ZyzF6TfvLwCLcB/s1600/sruble_rbrtarbt_tcns.jpg" /></a></div><br />FYI, beaks are still NOT noses in this image. My characters are wearing the beaks ON their noses. Though technically robots don't have noses, so that just applies to the girl ... or at least my robot doesn't have a nose! The girl and the robot are from a current picture book project. The toucans are just for this picture.<br /><br />While waiting for the paint to dry, I ran across my painting of Little Red Riding Hood from last year. Lots of big noses in this painting! Since I never shared it, I decided to share it for Illustration Friday this week (also because the toucan beak covered up the girl's nose in the other image):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--fqT6wIm2JM/V1ieG3QIjwI/AAAAAAAACnA/BlvRyz-j7fAEJhsg6IDZf2ckZDlz_QNVQCLcB/s1600/sruble_rdrdnghd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/--fqT6wIm2JM/V1ieG3QIjwI/AAAAAAAACnA/BlvRyz-j7fAEJhsg6IDZf2ckZDlz_QNVQCLcB/s1600/sruble_rdrdnghd.jpg" /></a></div><br />Can't decide if the woman Little Red is talking to is her mother, her grandmother, or the huntsman (huntswoman?). I'm also wondering if Little Red made up the whole story about the wolf eating grandma. Maybe she's a teller of tall tales (looks like her nose is growing from fibs, just like Pinocchio's nose did). No matter what, I think this version of the story is a bit different than the one we knew as kids. (Maybe I should write it. Hmm.)<br /><br />I had two main goals while painting this. 1. Have fun. I did! 2. Make the wolf scary. My wolves tend not to be scary, but I think I pulled it off this time. Here's a close up of the wolf. Do you think the wolf is scary? -<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ktb4_RakG10/V1ifZ8DBYnI/AAAAAAAACnM/xL5sAs9MmqMjlJ6nHJPe6Bl9_YTpy3w2QCLcB/s1600/sruble_rdrdnghd_crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ktb4_RakG10/V1ifZ8DBYnI/AAAAAAAACnM/xL5sAs9MmqMjlJ6nHJPe6Bl9_YTpy3w2QCLcB/s1600/sruble_rdrdnghd_crop.jpg" /></a></div><br />Do you follow your nose to breakfast every morning? Do you still eat cereal for breakfast (if you did as a kid)? Do you just wish you could watch Saturday morning cartoons and eat cereal again?<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7106807690148378341.post-21573277311371497632016-05-20T00:36:00.001-04:002016-05-20T14:00:48.668-04:00patterns, personal art themes, and illustration fridayThe <a href="http://illustrationfriday.com/" target="_blank">Illustration Friday</a> prompt this week is: nostalgia. I've been going through old art lately and looking at themes, or things in my art that I return to again and again. One of the themes I like to play around with is patterns. The nice thing about patterns is they can be different every time, so they can fit in to almost any piece of art without looking like you're doing the same thing over and over again. The patterns can be bold so the viewer can't help but notice them, or subtle so the viewer might not even realize there's a pattern until they look again.<br /><br />One of my old pattern pieces that I really love is one that hardly anyone has seen. It's an illustration of swirling mail (which is also nostalgic because people don't send or receive as much personal mail these days, and because it reminds me of my mom, who loved to write and send letters):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y7yZ8owqKUw/Vz6H-PYpzuI/AAAAAAAAClM/hNwqO-BeB1Me4pe9Gq828WkOe_UpBfJuACLcB/s1600/sruble_swrlmal2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y7yZ8owqKUw/Vz6H-PYpzuI/AAAAAAAAClM/hNwqO-BeB1Me4pe9Gq828WkOe_UpBfJuACLcB/s1600/sruble_swrlmal2010.jpg" /></a></div><br />Makes you want to write and send a letter, doesn't it?<br /><br />Another nostalgic image is a painting I did of sea turtles for <a href="http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Ripple</a> in 2010. I love sea turtles and even got to swim with them once! Was happy to be able to paint this piece to help support ocean animals.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iglng2u2ogQ/Vz6O9PiayEI/AAAAAAAAClc/U-z2OSvKer8c6IFI1nhJZgzYeUv0LyqVgCLcB/s1600/sruble_setrtle2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iglng2u2ogQ/Vz6O9PiayEI/AAAAAAAAClc/U-z2OSvKer8c6IFI1nhJZgzYeUv0LyqVgCLcB/s1600/sruble_setrtle2010.jpg" /></a></div><br />A more recent example of pattern mixed with nostalgia is this picture of a cat in a field of flowers (trying to get the birds, while a bird above is about to dump a hive full of bees on the cat). It's nostalgic because it's an updated version of the stuffed animal friend I had as a child (my alter-ego Kitty, who was mischievous): <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I8cDFOFBYCs/Vz6Q4zPmcXI/AAAAAAAAClw/a0lPW2EuaAsBjLQNaU8KdYTft744N4gwQCLcB/s1600/sruble_kttyflwrs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I8cDFOFBYCs/Vz6Q4zPmcXI/AAAAAAAAClw/a0lPW2EuaAsBjLQNaU8KdYTft744N4gwQCLcB/s1600/sruble_kttyflwrs.jpg" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;Speaking of bees, several years ago, I was working on a novel called, Path Of Bees. The novel didn't go anywhere (yet - working on picture books now), but this is one of the images inspired by the story:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-10Lte29sfZ4/Vz6P4ctmnvI/AAAAAAAAClk/8uDNbi5yUMQkwE7uiQ84BooUtcF4CNJhgCLcB/s1600/sruble_fltofbees2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-10Lte29sfZ4/Vz6P4ctmnvI/AAAAAAAAClk/8uDNbi5yUMQkwE7uiQ84BooUtcF4CNJhgCLcB/s1600/sruble_fltofbees2009.jpg" /></a></div><br />Speaking of picture books, <a href="http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781423175919" target="_blank">EWE AND AYE by Candace Ryan, illustrated by Stephanie Ruble</a>, had a couple of pattern pieces in it. This one is the pattern of the tree leaves and vines (each set of two leaves forms a heart - most are upside down, just like Aye in this scene):<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--MEz_VwWbP4/Vz6RxGHIL1I/AAAAAAAACl4/HZNEQ4XcNUkVS_THLg4odSeP0xAy1WOpQCLcB/s1600/sruble_EweAye_bat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--MEz_VwWbP4/Vz6RxGHIL1I/AAAAAAAACl4/HZNEQ4XcNUkVS_THLg4odSeP0xAy1WOpQCLcB/s1600/sruble_EweAye_bat.jpg" /></a></div><br />Here are four more patterned images (both new and old) with more obvious patterns:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BFa2jFbESZ4/Vz6SjgJhNAI/AAAAAAAACmE/IEJPpDCjiaQ6KLPhOl98-TFOIsqmGrunwCLcB/s1600/sruble_pttrns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BFa2jFbESZ4/Vz6SjgJhNAI/AAAAAAAACmE/IEJPpDCjiaQ6KLPhOl98-TFOIsqmGrunwCLcB/s1600/sruble_pttrns.jpg" /></a></div><br />And finally, let me leave you with a song. It's about carrots:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DW1IKXC1gLA/Vz9Qp1lgcZI/AAAAAAAACmU/kB010bbqFqYPzqdvhbP9yIuVvOVd5l2lQCLcB/s1600/sruble_bnnygrlsng.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DW1IKXC1gLA/Vz9Qp1lgcZI/AAAAAAAACmU/kB010bbqFqYPzqdvhbP9yIuVvOVd5l2lQCLcB/s1600/sruble_bnnygrlsng.jpg" /></a></div><br />Do you like to make patterns, either obvious or hidden in your art? Or do you make patterns when you doodle? (I do.) Do you have themes you return to again and again? If not, maybe this trip down my art memory lane will inspire you to take your own trip through your old art, or inspire you to make new art with patterns. Happy art making!<div class="blogger-post-footer">Stephanie Ruble's website and portfolio: http://sruble.com</div>srublehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09258955808195282768noreply@blogger.com0